Last week’s meeting in New Delhi between the premiers of India and Nepal
ended with the signing of seven agreements. Prime Minster Narendra Modi
and his Nepalese counterpart Khadga Oli have decided to set up an
Eminent Persons Group comprising eminent persons from the two countries.
The EPG was actually proposed in July 2014 during the third meeting of
the India–Nepal Joint Commission in Kathmandu. Each country will
nominate four members, preferably a parliamentarian, a lawyer, an
economist and a civil society activist. Its mandate will be to
comprehensively review bilateral relations and recommend measures
including institutional frameworks to further enhance bilateral ties
between the two neighbours. The Indian government has nominated
well-known development economist Mahendra P Lama from Darjeeling, former
Uttarakhand chief minister Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Director General of
Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis Jayant Prasad and Dr B.C.
Upreti, senior fellow at the Vivekanand International Foundation, a New
Delhi-based think tank. Nepal is represented by MP DrRajanBhattarai,
former finance and foreign minister DrBhekBahadurThapa, former
Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority chief Surya
NathUpadhyay and former law minister NilambarAcharya. The EPG will have a
full fledged and separate secretariat in both countries with funding
coming from either side. Of the seven agreements signed by the
neighbours, two MoUs included the US$250 million assistance by India to
Nepal for post earthquake reconstruction work in the neighbouring
country and strengthening of the road infrastructure in the Terai region
of Nepal. (EOIC)
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